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My Inspiration, and Process of Writing

I am in the process of writing my first big story for this blog. As promised in my About page, it is a retelling of a Grimm fairytale. So far it is superseding my expectations, so I am excited for everyone to read it. In the meantime I wanted to talk about different writing techniques, and what inspires writers.

Inspiration
For me, I am inspired by the dictionary. No seriously, I look up synonyms for just about every other word trying to find the perfect way to capture my thoughts. Wielding my vocabulary; or a dictionary, like a knight wields his sword, I find that there is the same kind of power in creating an existence as there is in holding a powerful weapon in the palm of your hands.

Inspiration for a work of art in the form of the written word in addition to vocabulary, can be the same thing that inspirers a painter. Nature for instance. Nature has been been a mammoth root in the growth I’ve experienced as a writer, and I find that just being outdoors, and taking in the simple beauty of the world is inspiration to last a lifetime. This is my canvas, and nature is what brings color to my art.

If the paper is my canvas, and nature is my color palette, then experience is how I shade my work, and perfect the fine details. If I was writing about a character that was a thrill seeker, and loved to jump off of buildings I might go skydiving, so that I could really get inside my character’s mind. Having actually experienced an aspect that is an important part of my character’s personality, I would be better equipped to explain the thrill that my character experiences, and have a better grasp of the type of character that I’m trying to portray. When you experience what you want to write about, you have access to all the minor details that could’ve escaped you otherwise. An added plus; I now have the perfect excuse to go thrill seeking.

Writing Techniques
When I start writing, I never really know what I’m going to write. I have an idea; sometimes, but I find that my creative juices flow better if I just started putting words on a page. The downside of this technique is that I start going down one path, then end up having to retrace my steps, because I decided mid story to take it down a completely different route. Annoying as this may be, it’s also the beauty of this technique. I’ve constructed new ideas that I never would have thought about, unless I had taken the wrong path first.

Now tell me, what techniques do you use when you write? What inspires you? Any thoughts? Comment below, and let me know!